By MARILYN LIDEN BODE

Great towns deserve great art and Kingston has it!

Another “find” in April is the joyous work of students of Stephens House of the Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation. Gallery member and painter Joanne Schoener Scott works with these wonderful young people and says they enrich her life every day. Be enchanted by their colors, humor, bold collages and paintings.

This triad of work will be shown April through May 5. At our festive and fun Second Saturday Gallery Night 5-8 p.m. April 12, you’ll have the chance to meet the artists and be wowed! As always enjoy music and refreshments.

Like ballet dancers, herons rely on their legs to give them balance and grace. In Watson-Halfhill’s paintings, you’ll find herons in classic ballet positions. Anyone who has seen herons in Apple Tree Cove knows they are witnessing nature’s ballet. Through paintings large and small, Watson-Halfhill’s (gallery manager and a founding co-op member) interest lies in animal totems and their messages to us.

“Herons

Kieckhaefer is new to our gallery’s roster of 22 artists. As a ceramicist, she and her family have had a lifelong affair with art, art shows, art fairs and cooperatives. With her husband and children’s involvement and support, Kieckhaefer’s business thrives by selling her mostly hand-built porcelain, high-fired and raku work. Using found items and airbrushed glazes, her wall vases, mirrors and sushi set designs are of natural things.

“My techniques are an accumulation of the many years I have been making pots,” she explained.

Our new addition is coming along at Cleo’s Landing and we are looking for artists and art teachers to enhance the new space. Could this be you? For information, call Patty Watson-Halfhill at (360) 297-2095 or e-mail her at pawsmac@mac.com.

For more information, or to join the cooperative Kingston Art Gallery, call (360) 297-5133 or go to www.kingstonartgallery.com. The gallery is located in the Cleo’s Landing building on Highway 104 in downtown Kingston.